


Soliloquy

by meggysmeg



Category: Kinky Boots (2005)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-10
Updated: 2016-07-08
Packaged: 2018-07-14 07:26:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7159727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meggysmeg/pseuds/meggysmeg
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What are you supposed to do when a handsome stranger tries to save you? Hit him in the face with a shoe? Be the reason he looses any and all memories he has? Well that's not the best reaction but it's what Lola did.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Blank Page

**Author's Note:**

> So this is an AU, obviously, and yeah, this kinda sprouted from a ton of head cannons I've been discussing with some friends.  
> Oh and I co-wrote this with another writer but she's not on this site but she goes by Shunters on FNN if you want to look her up.  
> Anyway loads of this is probably OOC (Or will end up that way) but oh well on with the story.

To her he was a knight in shining armour or at least he tried so very hard to be. Charlie wasn't perfect and Lola knew that but she also knew that he meant well, he wanted to help but he didn't always know how. The first time they'd met he'd tried to get in between her and some rowdy men but he only ended up getting hit in the face with a shoe and losing any and all memories of his life, on another occasion he'd tried to make shoes for her but instead created a burgundy atrocity, she thought she’d trained him better than that. There were many other examples but she chose not to dwell on those as much. But they all turned out alright in the end. Take the first night they met for example; he got amnesia, but they ended up engaged. Lola was engaged to the man of her dreams and she couldn’t be happier.

On occasion Lola would think back on the turn of events that led her away from London and to the small shoe factory in Northampton. The change of location all really began with Charlie falling into her life.

It all started rather suddenly, Charlie’s dad had passed away and the young man had been left with a factory that was in danger of closing. They’d just lost a contract so Charlie had rushed up to London in order to sell some of the shoes to an old family friend, Harry had agreed to take some of the shoes off of his hands at a price, not that he remembered that in the morning. After striking up the deal Charlie found himself sat in a bar planning on drinking his sorrows into oblivion but only succeeding in getting a little bit tipsy. Then his night exploded into action, he gave a box of shoes to a homeless man before hopping down an alley after a damsel in distress and the men following her. Charlie tried to reason with the men, telling them to leave the lady alone and so on and so forth, but they wouldn’t. Next thing he knows the woman’s in front of him waving a boot around, she brings it back to take a swing at the thugs but hits Charlie in the face instead. They were all staring at him as he felt himself fall to the floor his vision swimming in and out of focus, a red boot came towards him then everything went black.

* * *

Lola lifted her ‘saviour’ into her arms and hobbled on to the Angel club.

“You, young man, are way too light” She mumbled to the unconscious man. He stirred slightly but didn’t come to.

Lola eventually arrived at the club and made her way to her dressing room. She set her mystery man down in one of the chairs and busied herself getting ready.

* * *

As Charlie started to come to the first thing he noticed was all the angels everywhere, the next thing he noticed was the pounding in his head, he groaned.

“Very sweet” A voice said, Charlie swivelled round in the chair he was sat on to see a woman painting her nails “You riding to my rescue, very… Prince charming. Pass me my boobs will ya.”

Charlie looked behind him and found a bra hanging over the back of the chair he was sat on, he passed it to the… woman? He wasn’t sure how to reply to the first part of her comment, he didn’t remember rescuing anyone but a reply was probably needed so he came up with the best possible response.

“You didn’t look like you needed much help.”

“Well a girl has to know how to look after herself these days, there are some very funny people out there. How’s that wound?” The woman, it was easier to refer to her as a woman, leaned over to look at the side of his head. He moved away. “Don’t flatter yourself” The woman laughed. He didn’t know what she meant by this. “Vodka” She lifted a bottle and removed the lid “Helps you forget pain. Well, it does for me.” She handed him a shot glass, he downed it.

The woman sat down and picked up a shoe “God, clean off again.” She threw the shoe at him “Like most things in life it cannot stand the weight of a man” He inspected the heel. The woman moaned as she tried to pull on another boot.

“Oh uh, hold on” Charlie rummaged through his pockets, he thought he had something that might be useful to the woman. He pulled out a kit of some sort and removed a shoe horn from it, he passed it to the woman.

She laughed and used it to pull the boot on.

“Thank you again Mr… Sorry to be presumptive. Are you a Mr?”

Charlie looked confused, of course he was a man. But now seemed like a good time to introduce himself “I’m a… a…” He stared at the woman wide eyed

“Are you alright?” She asked

“I… I can’t remember anything”

“What?”

“I can remember anything”

“Nothing?”

“Nothing”

“Oh God that’s not good. Uh, look, I’ve got to go on stage but you stay here and I’ll be back and we can try sort this out, ok?”

“O…Ok”

* * *

Charlie wasn’t really sure how long Lola was gone for as he’d fallen asleep pretty soon after she’d left, occasionally he’d wake up and see someone standing in the doorway watching him but he didn’t care he just wanted to sleep off the ponding headache he had. At one point he’d woken up to the sound of applause, the sound cased the pain in his head to double, the noise died down after what felt like a life time and he drifted off into sweet oblivion once again.

* * *

The next time Charlie woke he was greeted by sterile white walls and the gentle beep of a heart rate monitor. He moaned and brought a hand up to his head, he jabbed his temple lightly and let out a hiss at the pain.

“Nice to see you awake” Charlie’s eyes snapped to the right where the woman who he’d tried (tried being the key word) to save was sat reading a magazine. She put the magazine down and leaned over to the side of the bed and hit the call button “Better let the doctor know you’re awake. I don’t think I introduced myself last night did I?”

Charlie shook his head but immediately regretted it. He attempted to sit up and eventually succeeded with Lola’s help.

“I’m Lola” She stuck her hand out for him to shake, he took the offered hand, it was soft and delicate compared to his rough, callous ones.

Just as Charlie was about to reply the Doctor walked in.

“Ah, seems our John Smith is awake” The Doctor smiled “I thought that’d be the reason you hit the call button”

“Wait, is my name John?” Charlie asked

“No, no, it’s not. John Smith is the generic name we use for a patient we don’t know the identity of.”

“Oh, I knew that” Charlie mumbled

“Well, Lola explained the whole situation and I don’t see any reason to keep you here but I’d just like to ask you a few questions first if that’s ok?”

Charlie nodded

“Alright then. What’s your name?”

Charlie thought for a moment but came up with nothing, he looked down at his hands sheepishly.

“I dunno, sorry” He muttered

“That’s alright. How old are you?”

Another small pause, Charlie shrugged

“Home town?”

“Not sure”

“Occupation?”

“Not a clue”

A few more questions were asked before the doctor looked at his clip board, wrote a few things down and then looked back up at Charlie.

“Well this is most likely temporary from the looks of some of the scans we did whilst you were out but I don’t want you living by yourself till you have some sense of who you are.” He looked at Lola and then back to Charlie “Do you think there’s anyone you could stay with?” It was obvious the Doctor meant stay with Lola, he just didn’t want to say it.

Charlie turned to look at Lola, searching for the answer to what the Doctor had just asked him. She looked back at him. How could she refuse those eyes?

“He can stay with me” She smiled at Charlie who smiled back

“Alright well all your personal things are on the chair over there. All you need to do is sign some forms at the front desk then you’re free to go” The Doctor left.

“I’ll wait outside whilst you get changed” Lola left to allow Charlie some privacy whilst he got out of the hospital gown and back into what he’d been wearing the night before.

“Lola, didn’t I have a jacket?” Charlie asked, leaning out of the door

“I think I left it at the club, sorry Love”

“That’s alright, I just thought it might contain some ID”

“Nice thinking, we’ll swing by the club before going to my place”

Eventually Lola and Charlie left the hospital, Lola hailed a taxi and the two got in.

* * *

When they arrived at the club Lola let them in through the back door and led Charlie into her dressing room.

“Here you go” She threw the coat to Charlie

“Thanks” He sat on the nearest chair and started to rummage through the pockets. First Charlie pulled out the shoe kit, he opened it and found a business card.

“Price and Son’s, Northampton” He read aloud “I work in the shoe industry”

“Well, that explains the shoe horn” Lola commented “But if you’re from Northampton what’re you doing in London?”

Charlie shrugged his shoulders and kept on looking, he pulled out his wallet next. He opened it and rummaged through the content before pulling out his driver’s licence.

“My name is Charlie Price” He smiled triumphantly

“Nice to meet you Charlie Price” Lola grinned sticking out her hand for him to shake, he took it gratefully and shook it vigorously. “Anything else in that wallet?”

“Some money, credit card and a folded piece of paper” Charlie concluded after some further rummaging

“Does the paper say anything?”

He unfolded the paper and read the content aloud “Buy more meds. Exclamation mark exclamation mark exclamation mark.”

“Bugger, Charlie-boy, do you know what this means?” Charlie shook his head “We don’t know what sort of meds you need, what the dosage is, how often you have to take them, what they’re even for, we don’t even know if you have any with you”

Charlie rummaged around in his pockets again but came up empty handed.

“I can’t find anything that could answer any of those questions, sorry”

Lola sighed “Look lets go to mine and we can get you settled in and figure out what’s going on with you”

"Ok," Charlie agreed and followed Lola as she started leaving the club, "so what happened after I fell asleep, or passed out, or whatever?"

"Well," Lola stopped walking to explain.

* * *

_Lola had just come back to her dressing room after, yet another, fabulous performance. As she walked in, she caught sight of her mystery 'rescuer' asleep in the chair she had placed him in. What was she going to do with him? He couldn't even remember his own name! That may have actually been her fault; she did hit him with a shoe. Well, she'd just have to ask her knight-in-shining-armour what he wanted to do. Lola walked over to the prone form of the man and gently shook his shoulder. He didn't stir._

_" 'scuse me?" she asked as she shook him again._

_He still didn't wake. She then gently tapped his cheek several times. Nothing. Oh god. She quickly checked for a pulse. Phew. He was still alive. But he wouldn't wake up, what the hell was she supposed to do?_

* * *

"So," Lola continued, "I called an ambulance and explained the situation to them. When they arrived, I went with you, and then I was pretty much just waiting around until you woke up."

“Oh, thanks, but you didn’t have to stay with me you know”

“Didn’t have to stay?” She snorted “You should have seen the state you were in plus I feel like I may be to blame for this whole situation so it was the least I could do”

“Why would it be your fault?”  

“I may have hit you in the face with a shoe”

“You what? Why would you do that?” Charlie started to get agitated

“Well there were this blokes following me, then you turned up trying to be some vigilante. So I took that as my chance to try and scared them off for good, I took my shoe off and started waving it about but you were closer than I thought so when I brought it behind me I hit you by accident.”

“Yeah well maybe you should have been more careful Lola” Charlie moved to storm out

“Charlie, please, you can’t just run off. You don’t know anything about yourself, you’ll get yourself hurt or worse killed” Lola pleaded

“I know enough” He pushed past her and out of the back door, Lola chased after him

“Wait, Charlie please let me help you. I didn’t mean to put you through all this, let me _try_ and make it up to you. Please”

Charlie stopped and turned to face her. The anger was gone from his face, it had been replaced by teary eyes and a lost, sad expression.

“I’m sorry” He mumbled, lip wobbling

“Oh sweetie” Lola walked towards the man and pulled him into a hug

“I’m just really scared and confused” Charlie’s sobs were muffled by Lola’s shoulder

“It’s ok, you’re allowed to be scared and confused, it’s ok” Lola hushed as she rubbed his back reassuringly.  


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so for starters Soph and I have some weird head cannons which will become obvious as you read (such as tap dancing Charlie, not sure where that came from but it happened), also we have used some musical cannon so if any of you have seen it on Bway, Westend or the national tour (America) then you may recognise it but I will point out which part that is at the end of the chapter.  
> Big chunks in italics that aren't dialog via phone are flashbacks but if the location of flashbacks becomes foggy please let me know in the comments and I'll go through and edit it.

After a hug and a cry, Lola brought Charlie back through the club to the bar at the front. She introduced him to the Angels to try and cheer him up.

“Charlie, meet the girls. Girls, meet Charlie; he can’t remember anything,” Lola said.

Charlie gave an awkward wave and a, “hey,” while the Angels smiled and waved, returning the, “hey.”

Charlie searched around, awkwardly, before his eyes landed on the girls again. The sparkly and brightly coloured outfits they wore caught his attention, “ooo, these are nice,” he said as he walked up to the nearest woman.

He grabbed the Angel’s shoe and pulled it up, getting a closer look. He turned it this way and that, analysing the shoe. The man began to mutter under his breath about how the shoes must have been made.

Lola looked to her friend, “he owns a shoe factory,” she explained.

Charlie dropped the shoe as a thought came to him. He turned to Lola, “oh, I know,” he began as he walked over to her, “let’s get ice cream!” he grabbed Lola’s hands, “it’ll be great! Oh, and then we can go see a film. No, wait we have to go to the carnival; I saw a flyer for it earlier. Come on, Lola, come on, come on, come on-“

Lola’s eyebrows climbed higher and higher as she watched the hyperactive child-like man gesture wildly around and ramble, “slow down, Charlie-boy. We have to find out whether these meds are to help with some life-threatening illness, first.”

“What meds?”

“The meds which you wrote a note about, which we found in your pocket?”

“Oh, right, those.”

“We can get ice cream on the way back from the doctors.”

“Yes! Lola, you’re the best! Oh, can we go to the cinema, or the carnival, or the park, or-”

“Bye girls,” Lola grabbed Charlie’s hand and began to drag him out of the club.

“Bye Lola,” the Angels called behind them.

* * *

 

The pair were walking around after buying some ice cream, after speaking to the doctor who figured out what was wrong with Charlie in the hospital earlier.

“So,” Charlie began to list what was wrong with him, “short attention span, careless mistakes, doesn’t listen well, is forgetful, doesn’t stick to one activity, and isn’t organised.”

“In other words, ADHD,” Lola finished.

“Yup, but don’t forget the Bipolar or the anxiety.”

“Who could forget those?”

Charlie sighed “I have some serious issues.”

“Well,” she flicked a piece of hair over her shoulder, “who doesn’t?”

“Yeah, but, I can’t focus on anything,” Charlie told Lola as he gestured around, “even now, I’m finding it hard to focus on this conversation, and I’m looking at that dog over there wondering where its owner is and if it’s been abandoned, and I’m-“

“Charlie, shut up, and let’s go to the chemist,” Lola interrupted.

Charlie nodded still staring at the dog “Good boy” he whispered.

* * *

 

2 weeks later, at the factory

Lauren paced the office, rambling to George, “how could he just leave? Didn’t he tell you when he was going to be back? I mean, he knows how much trouble we’re in…doesn’t he?”

“Lauren,” George began with a sigh, “he didn’t leave us, he knows how much trouble we’re in, and he didn’t tell me how long he’d be gone for. He just said that he was going up to London to try and get some new customers, and that he would be back in a while, possibly a month or two,” the man sighed, “I honestly don’t know when he’ll be back, but I know that he will be.”

Lauren sighed in frustration, “I’m going to ring Nicola,” George nodded and left the office, while the woman pulled out her mobile and found Charlie’s address book.

Once she found the correct number, she keyed it into her phone and rung the other woman.

_“Hello? Nicola speaking,”_ the voice on the other end said.

“Hi, Nicola, it’s Lauren, I work at Price and Sons.” she began, “I was just wondering if you’ve heard from Charlie? Or, if he told you when he’d be coming back to Northampton?”

_“No, I haven’t heard from him since he started gallivanting around London. He didn’t tell me when he’d be going back to the factory, either; he doesn’t tell me anything. Have you tried ringing him?”_

“Yeah: it just goes straight to voicemail, I’m kind of worried.”

_“I tried to call him as well, he didn’t answer, but I’m sure he’s fine; you know Charlie.”_

“Right, well, sorry to bother you; I was just wondering when he’d be getting back. Ok, thanks for your time, I better get back to work,” Lauren told her.

The pair said goodbye, and hung up. Lauren sighed as she left the office and got back to work.

* * *

 

For the past 2 weeks, Charlie had been staying with Lola, while he was in London. Charlie had insisted on doing something to help out with money, as a thank you to Lola, so he worked part time at the Angel Club, as a waiter. Now, Charlie was just getting changed into his clothes, one morning. He stood in front of the mirror in Lola’s spare room, pondering over the scars on either side of his torso. He held his shirt in his hand. It was like the memory was just there; just out of his reach.

“Charlie?” Lola asked from behind him.

The man looked through the mirror to see his friend looking at him, questioningly, “Lola?”

“You ok?” she said as she walked forward, she caught sight of the scars on either side of Charlie’s chest, reaching from under his arm to the bottom of his rib cage.

“I’m fine; just thinking,” Charlie replied.

“What happened there?” Lola asked, running her finger down the length of one of the scars.

“I don’t know,” Charlie shrugged, trying to suppress a laugh, and shivering as he was quite ticklish.

Lola reached round and hugged Charlie from behind, “I’m sure your memories will come back, with time.”

The shoe maker sighed as he leant back into the embrace, “but when?”

* * *

 

**1 week later**

Charlie was walking down the street, towards the Angel Club, when he bumped into someone familiar.

“Hey, Charlie,” the man said as he held out his hand.

“Hi, Harry,” Charlie had no idea where the name came from, but he decided to go with it. He shook the man’s hand.

* * *

 

_Charlie lay on his bed in his university dorm, leaning on his elbows, while talking to Harry. His friend was smirking as he walked over to the end of his bed. Charlie smirked back. Harry crawled onto the bed and on top of Charlie. He leant up as Harry leant down and their lips crashed together. Harry’s hands slipped under his shirt, pulling it off. Charlie unbuttoned the other man's shirt and pushed it off his shoulders. Harry's hand slide down towards Charlie's belt…_

* * *

 

_“See, Harry I just happen to find myself with 12-hundred pairs of brogues,” he told his friend as they walked through the back of the shop, “I know that a few years back, your dad took a some off my dad’s hands at cost, and I just thought, maybe…”_

_“But that was a few years back, Charlie,” Harry replied, “things have changed a bit,” Charlie looked downcast, “but, look, I’ll tell you what; I’ll take 200 pairs off your hands, for old time’s sake,” Harry took a black shoe out of a box and showed it to Charlie, “imported from Slovakia. Do you wanna know how much?”_

_“Harry,” he grumbled as he inspected the shoe, “a Price’s shoe will last a man a lifetime; the poor sod who buys this will be back in 10 months buying new ones.”_

_“I know,” Harry agreed, “and isn’t that great.”_

_Charlie sighed._

* * *

 

"So, what are you still doing in London?" Harry asked, "I thought you would've gone back to Northampton by now."

"Oh, I will, I mean- I am, I was just looking for other buyers," Charlie replied.

The other man sighed, "look, Charlie, I'll take another hundred shoes off your hands, just 'cause it's you, for old time’s sake. I'm sorry I can't do more for you, mate; I really wish I could, but we're all struggling."

"Thank you, Harry, and I understand, mate," he replied, "you gotta take what you got."

"Exactly."

* * *

 

That night, after the show, Charlie approached Lola about his thoughts, "Lola, I've been thinking, I need to get back to my factory; it's losing money, fast. The whole reason I came to London was to find a way to save Price & Sons', and I have to go back to help them."

Lola nodded, "alright, Charlie-Boy, I understand. Hang on, how did you know that? Have you got your memories back?"

"Um, no, not really. I just ran into someone I used to know, and then, all of a sudden, I'm remembering something. I found out my factory is going into crisis, but, he took three hundred pairs off my hands, so that was good," he replied.

Lola nodded, "see," she smiled, "I told you they'd come back with time. And, remember, Charlie-Boy, if it doesn't work out in Northampton, you'll always have a place here in London."

That night, Charlie packed up the few things he had accumulated over his four week stay in London. It was mostly clothes, and a few toiletries. Lola drove Charlie down to the train station. As they sat in the car, they said their goodbyes.

"Good luck with your factory, Charlie," Lola said, earnestly, "come see a show sometime, ey?"

"Sure thing, and, you know, break-a-leg and all that," Charlie replied, "of course, not literally; that would be terrible."

Lola laughed, "it's been fun, Charlie-Boy. See you around."

The man smiled, "it has been fun, thank you for looking after me, Lola. I'll see you soon."

* * *

 

Charlie went straight to his factory after arriving in Northampton. He stuck a hand into his jacket pocket and pulled out the key, opening the door and turning on the lights. He shut the door behind him and walked forwards, cautiously, trying to find his way around the factory. It was like having déjà vu; recognising your surroundings, but having no idea where from or where you were going. He climbed the stairs up to a glass office, his office. He unlocked the door, shutting it behind him and dropping his rucksack onto the ground. He placed the box, containing Lola's broken shoe, onto his desk and flopped into his chair. Charlie sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. Work would start in an hour, and he was nowhere near ready to meet all these people he was supposed to know.

He started to look through his desk, trying to find something which would tell him about these people that he had grown up with. He eventually found a pile of files on all his employees. Half an hour later, he had fallen asleep while reading through the pile a second time.

"Charlie?!"

The voice startled him awake and he fell off his chair, landing on the floor in an undignified heap with an 'umph'.

"Charlie, when did you get back? Where were you? Why didn't you answer your phone?!" the woman asked him.

"Um," he said, leaning up on his elbows, looking up at the brunette.

"Give him a minute, Lauren," an older man said from behind the woman, "he's only just woken up."

"I got back this morning, and, um, I was in London. Didn't I tell you that?" Charlie replied.

"Well, of course you told us you were going to London, but you were gone for a month, and Lauren got a bit worried that you hadn't contacted us," the older man told him.

"Oh, er- well, sorry," Charlie stuttered. He then realised he was still on the ground and pushed himself up off the floor, "my phone was, erm, broken."

"Well, I'm just glad you're back and that George and I are no longer in charge," Lauren replied.

"Yes; Price & Son's needs a Mr. Price," the old man- George, perhaps- agreed.

"Um, thanks," Charlie said.

"Have you seen Nicola yet?" Lauren asked, "she didn't seem to know where you were."

"Ey?" he asked, surprised; who was Nicola?

"You know, you really should've seen your fiancée before you came to work," she told him.

"Huh?" his voice went up an octave. Fiancée?!

"Just saying," she shrugged.

"Erm- yeah, you're right, but, um, I didn't want to wake her when I let myself in."

"Well, um, we'll let you have your office back then," she left with George.

Charlie dropped into his chair again, "shit," he muttered, "I'm getting married to a stranger."

* * *

 

That night, Charlie went to the estate agency where 'Nicola' worked. He had found the address in his address book, which was in his desk at work. He stood, looking into the window. A woman with black hair looked up and saw him. She smiled. That must be her. She was pretty, he thought. The woman held up a finger and mouthed 'two minutes'. He nodded. The woman went back to her computer, typing something, before shouting something over her shoulder and standing. She grabbed her handbag and exited the office.

"Hey," she greeted.

"Hey," he replied, smiling.

He reached down and pulled her into a kiss, slowly moving his lips on hers, trying to seem like he actually knew what he was doing.

* * *

 

_"Nicola," he said, getting down to one knee, "will you marry me?"_

_"Yes!" she squealed and nodded, "of course."_

_He stood and pulled her into a slow, passionate kiss, "I love you," he whispered against her lips as he pulled away._

_"I love you too," Nicola replied, grinning, with love swimming in her brown eyes._

* * *

"What was that for?" Nicola asked him as they parted for air.

"Just, happy to see you; it's been four weeks, so," Charlie shrugged as they rested their foreheads on each other's.

"Oh," she replied, "if that's what I get after four weeks of you being away, I may need to send you away more often."

They laughed. Charlie slipped an arm around her waist and led her to the restaurant he was going to take her to.

* * *

 

"Lola," Charlie said into the phone, the following night, at the factory.

"Hello, Charlie-Boy," she replied.

"Lola, I'm engaged," he told her, panic slipping into his voice.

"...your engaged?" Lola asked, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice.

"Yes! To a woman I can't even remember!" he replied, "although, I do remember proposing to her, but I don't really know her. You know?" he sighed, "I don't know what to do, Lola...I miss you, the Angels, and London, but my family and friends are here, or at least, they're meant to be."

"It's ok, Charlie-Boy," Lola tried her best to comfort him, "the memories will come back, as you said, they're already starting to. Things at the factory will get better, and if they don't, London and the Club will still be here for you. Just give things some time, eh, Charlie?"

"Alright," he sighed, "I suppose you're right, Lola."

"Of course I am; I'm always right," she told him.

Charlie laughed, "of course, how could I forget."

"Anyway, I've got to go; I've got a crowd waiting to watch me and feel normal by comparison," Lola said.

He chuckled, "have fun."

"Goodbye, Charlie-Boy," she replied.

"Bye, Lola."

* * *

 

Charlie sat at his desk, across from Trish, who was fiddling with an elastic band.

“Please,” she begged.

“Trish-”

“No, please,” she replied, “they just started school, just started school this month; it’s the uniforms, it’s the dinners.”

“We lost the contract with Chambers. Thing is, we lost the contract with Chambers, which means-” he tried.

“Actually, don’t,” she interrupted and stood up, “actually, this is like apologies for your train running late; it doesn’t mean anything,” the elastic snapped.

He stood too as she walked to the door, “it’s not like that, ‘cause-”

“So, I’d rather not hear it,” she left, slamming the door behind her.

“I do mean it!” he shouted over the intercom.

He sighed, dropping back into his chair. After a moment, he sat up, straightened his tie and prepared for the next person he had to fire.

Charlie was actually quite thankful for the amnesia at this point, because it was hard enough to fire people he couldn't remember. He can't imagine what it would be like to have to fire people he knew. As he sat at his desk in his office, he sighed and pulled out his phone. He scrolled through the contacts, until he found the one he was looking for.

"Charlie-Boy, what can I do for you?" she said.

"I don't know what to do Lola," he admitted, "they expect me to find a solution to all this, but, at the rate we're going at, I'm going to have to shut the factory down."

"I'm sorry, Charlie, I don't know what to suggest," Lola sighed, saddened by her friend's troubles, "you could always sell the factory, no hear me out," she said as Charlie went to interrupt her, "you could sell the factory, and give the workers the money you get, instead of keeping it for yourself."

Charlie sighed, "I guess I could, but I don't want to think about doing that; I just fired ten people I supposedly grew up with, and that was bad enough. I really don't want to think about laying everyone off, and giving them a small share of an already small amount of money."

"I understand, but think of it as your failsafe," Lola told him.

"Ok. Thank you for talking to me, Lola."

"Any time, Charlie-Boy."

He hung up the phone and sighed, throwing the device down onto his desk in frustration. Charlie stood up from his chair and moved in front of his desk. He stepped forward, knocking his heel back against hardwood floor. He began to pace back and forth, occasionally tapping his heel or toe harder against the wooden floor panels. He turned and clicked his heel forward, bringing it back and hitting his toe against the floor. He slammed that foot in front of him, shifting his weight onto that foot. Charlie picked up his other foot, tapping the heel forward then clicking his toes against the floor. It appeared he was dancing. He decided to just go with it. After five full minutes of, what seemed to be, tap dancing, the man collapsed back into his chair, ready to call up the next person to fire.

“I’m sorry,” he said to the girl- Lauren?- four firings later, “but, what can I do?”

“Change the product,” she replied.

“I’m sorry?”

“Like with Liptons, start making equestrian boots,” Lauren told him, “Brown’s, they’re making- oh whatever,” she stood, “climbing boots,” she pointed angrily outside the factory, “all them other sods, they went out there, looking for their niche markets, I mean they didn’t just sit back in their offices going ‘what can I do’,” she threw her hands up. Charlie dropped the pencil as she dropped her hands, “I’m sorry,” she apologised for her outburst.

“No, it’s fine,” he replied.

She sighed, “I was just really, really looking forward to a Chinese tonight,” she said as she removed her apron, “now, I’m not sure if I can afford it,” low blow. She left.

Charlie stood and walked over to the window, pacing. He pulled out Lola’s broken shoe, placing it on his desk, ready to be mended. He sighed, and looked out across his domain. He caught sight of that Don guy. He didn’t seem very nice. The man sneered at him.

* * *

 

_“Look, Don, I’m sorry, but I don’t think you’re cut out for the rugby team,” he told the other boy. They were in senior school, it seemed, in a hallway at the top of some stairs._

_“Do you want to test that?” Don replied, taking a threatening step forward._

_Charlie put his hands up in a placating manor, “look, Don, mate, calm down-”_

_“Calm down? You’re kicking me off the team, I ain’t gonna calm down,” he took another step forwards as Charlie stepped back._

_“I’m sorry, but, we’ve got too many people, and-”_

_“So kick Harry off, or Tom, or David- god knows why you keep him on-, or even Michel,” Don told him, gesturing around._

_“You know I can’t kick them off-” Charlie isn’t really sure what happened next, but, the next thing he knows, he’s falling down a flight of stairs and landing in an ungraceful and painful heap on the floor._

_He heard his head crack sickeningly against the hard floor. Pain shot around his body, lighting up all his nerve endings and screaming. Flames licked across his broken body. Don loomed above him, sneering at him. His mouth moved and as the boy walked away, Charlie registered the words in his pain-logged mind._

_“You’re not kicking me off.”_

_He blacked out._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don pushing Charlie down the stairs for trying to kick him off the Rugby team is musical cannon, it led to Don getting suspended but he didn't get kicked off the team.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we used some of the songs from the musical in this chapter because why not. If you want to give the songs a listen then the first is Charlie's soliloquy (one) and Take what you've got (We slowed this song down a bit), I would recommend listening to the London recording if you can.

Charlie woke up on the floor of his office, a sharp pain in his head. He winced as he sat up and looked around. It seemed to be dark in the rest of the factory. He stood up and looked outside of his office. Everyone was gone. He groaned again as the pain started to pulsated and eventually settled into a gentle throb in the depths of his skull. He gently massaged the hollow point between the top of his spine and the base of his skull, attempting to sooth the pain. He sighed as he went to find the kitchenette.

Charlie brought his cup of tea down into the caverns of the factory. He sat in front of one of the machines with his mug. After he’d finished the drink, he placed the mug on the moving convey-a-belt. He grabbed it as it reached the end of the track, placing it back and repeating. He began to tap his foot against the floor and moved the mug, creating a beat. Words rolled off his tongue, without thought, his inner monologue becoming a song, a soliloquy.

“Do I belong here?

Am I what's wrong here?

Know what I'm doing?

Or am I a fraud?

Do I fit in?

Where do I begin?

Same old Charlie,

Frightened and flawed.

So, I pretend

and keep my head up like I

Know how this will end.

“Maybe these pieces

Are falling together.

Making me feel like

I'm not alone.

Punching holes

Into this leather

This kind'a feels like

I'm back home.

“I'm watching myself

And I know what to do.

Hey look at me now

It's a shoe.”

He looked up into his office, the broken red boot given to him by Lola was still sitting on his desk. The idea hit him and the metaphorical light bulb went on above his head. Yes. He could do that.

* * *

 

He raced across town, towards Lauren’s home. She deserved to come with him; it was her idea, after all. He banged on her door. She opened it.

“Lauren,” he breathed in relief. She shut the door in his face, “Lauren? You haven’t heard what I was gonna say,” he shouted to her through the door.

“Well, does it involve the words ‘job back’?” she asked him.

He leant down to the letter box, “potentially.”

They were on the next train out of Northampton. London here they come.

* * *

 

As Charlie opened the door to the Angel Club, he was greeted by Chrissie, one of the Angel waiters at the Club, “Charlie, good to see you again,” she led them to Charlie’s regular seat.

“Thanks, Chrissie,” he replied as he sat down with Lauren next to him.

“Ok, brace yourself,” he whispered to Lauren; Lola was quite the sight after all, and her singing was…beautiful.

The show started with the usual, “ladies,” two of the Angels stuck their legs up, behind the screen, “gentlemen,” another two pairs of legs, “and those of you who are yet to make up your minds,” the legs snapped together. Lola stepped onto the stage in a short blue dress, with a blonde wig. She began to sing.

“Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets

And little man, little Lola wants you,” Charlie swallowed some of his customary beer with a gulp.

“Make up your mind to have, no regrets

Recline yourself, resign yourself you're through

I always get, what I aim for

And your heart and soul, is what I came for.

“Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets

Take off your coat, Don't you know you can't win

You're no exception to the rule,

I'm irresistible you fool…give in”

It was as if she were singing just to him. Then, the audience was clapping and he joined in. Charlie looked at Lauren and raised an eyebrow, as if to ask ‘what do you think?’. He slipped through the crowd and to the bathroom, while Lauren approached Lola. As Charlie was making his way to the table the two girls had sat at, he was stopped at the bar by a familiar face.

“Charlie?” she asked.

“Charlotte,” he greeted with a smile, “hello.”

She laughed as she slipped over the counter and pulled him into a hug, “it’s great to see you again.”

“You too, Charlotte,” he hugged her back.

“Charlie?”

“Yes?” both man and woman turned to the Angel who spoke.

It had been a favourite amongst the Angels to confuse the pair of them by saying ‘Charlie’ and not ‘Charlotte’ when they meant the young waitress. After a few days of that happening, they both grow far more in-sync with each other, and were now something like siblings.

She grinned, “knew it was you,” he was pulled into another hug, “also, Charlotte needs to get back to work.”

“Right,” the woman replied, “see you around, Charlie.”

“It’s good to see you, Bonnie, but I need to go have a discussion with Lola," he told the Angel.

"Alright," Bonnie replied, "but, come back and visit us again, soon."

"I will do," he turned and walked over to the table his friends had claimed.

“-Boris Yelsin in lipstick,” Lola was saying as Charlie came over with the coffees he’d ordered. He sat beside Lauren, opposite Lola.

“Well, don’t kid yourself; your never more than 10 feet away from a transvestite,” Lola said. Charlie wondered what conversation he had just walked in on, “you made her redundant you miserable sod,” she accused.

Charlie looked confusedly at Lola, “what? Lola, it’s not my fault I had to lay people off; I didn’t know how much debt we were in. Why are you being so rude to me? Besides, things aren’t very good in men’s shoes.”

“Well, I’m certainly not,” Lola agreed.

Charlie rolled his eyes, taking a sip of coffee and then remembered why he came here, “ah, yes, precisely. How much do you weigh?”

“The right amount,” Lola replied, raising an eyebrow, “and that’s rich, coming from you.”

“Would do you mean?” Charlie asked, slightly offended.

“We all know what I mean,” the queen replied.

“I don’t,” Lauren stated.

“Have you ever tried lifting this man?” Lola continued, “my 13 year old, anorexic cousin weighs more.”

“What I mean to say, Lola,” Charlie gritted out, “is that, let’s face it, you’re a man-”

“Well done, Charlie,” she interrupted, “don’t know how you figured that one out.”

Charlie rolled his eyes, “the distribution and pressure of a traditional female heel cannot be expected to hold a man’s weight. Transvestites and drag queens are everywhere, like you say, so there’s obviously a market for shoes specially designed for them, right?”

“All this way, for my advice?” Lola stated in a slightly playful tone, “I feel like Opera.”

He ignored her comment, “I’d like to measure you, go back to the factory, and make a sample pair.”

Lola sighed, then gestured with her head to the aisle next them. Charlie smiled and stood with Lola. While the woman stood up straight, offering her leg, Charlie knelt before her. He pulled out the measuring tape from his shoe kit. He breathed in as he slid the tape around Lola’s thigh. The woman’s hand slipped over his own and Charlie felt his pulse pick up as he swallowed. He slowly looked up, passed Lola’s crotch, passed her chest and up to the woman’s face.

“Who gets to keep the boots?” she asked as she stroked his cheek with her free hand. Charlie struggled to suppress a shiver and pay attention to the conversation, “little warning,” she continued, “the answer is ‘you do, Lola’,” she whispered the last part.

“Er-” he cleared his throat, “you do, Lola,” he swallowed as Lola pulled her hands away and he looked down, the moment broken.

He jotted down the measurement of her thigh as Lola asked, “where do I come to pick it up? Price and Sons’ of Northampton?” she guessed, remembering the address from Charlie’s business card.

“Yeah,” he agreed with a smile, “but, you don’t need to come down, I’ll come to you,” he offered, looking up at her again as he started to measure from Lola’s heel, up to her thigh.

Lola herself tried not to imagine this is a different scenario, one with less…people around. She spoke again to take her mind off it, “oh, no, you know what they say; a good pair of boots is worth walking for.”

“I don’t think Northampton is the best place for you to be, Lola,” Charlie replied as he knelt before his friend, “you haven’t met some of the assholes I work with.”

“Right,” Lola agreed. She really couldn’t be bothered to argue with the man.

Lauren awkwardly leant down and whispered to Charlie, “um, Charlie, look behind you.”

“What is it?” he asked.

The trio turned to look at the Angels and drag queens behind them, “it’s your niche market, Charlie,” Lauren continued.

The other girls were looking at him with their legs out and- as far as Charlie knew- waiting for their legs to be measured. Lauren, sensing the tension, stood, “I’ll wait outside for you, Charlie.”

“Way to go, Charlie,” Stella shouted in a happy voice as Lauren left.

“Looks like he finally maned up and proposed,” Charlotte whispered to Bonnie.

“What?” Charlie asked, confused, “I- erm, just like feeling her leg,” he was bewildered about what was going on.

Stella wolf whistled, “nice one.”

Charlie closed his eyes, “no!” he opened them again, “that’s not what I meant! I was just- um…what exactly are you talking about?” he asked.

“We’re not getting married, girls,” Lola interrupted, smoothly, “he was just measuring my leg for some shoes.”

“I just really like legs,” Charlie awkwardly said, breaking the silence. He seemed quite dazed.

“Hush, Charlie-Boy, don’t make this worse,” Lola told him.

“Okay, Lola,” he nodded.

“Stand up, Love,” she said gentle.

“Alright,” he replied and stood.

Lola led Charlie gentle to a back room. Charlotte, meanwhile, jumped over the bar and pulled out a board, along with a box from underneath the counter. The board was covered in names, times, dates, and amounts of money. She unlocked the box, showing money to be held inside.

“Okay,” she announced, “Felicia, Bernice, and Witty, you’re out; they haven’t gotten engaged in a month since we met him. Pandora, you’re out as well; this is a month and four days, and they haven’t gotten engaged,” they four queens groaned. Lauren walked in, looking for Charlie. Charlotte continued, “anymore bets for when Charlie and Lola will start dating, or when they’ll get engaged?”

“What?” Lauren asked, the girls looked at her, “Charlie’s engaged! To a woman; he can’t be dating Lola.”

The queens looked at each other, “damn,” was collectively muttered, before they clambered to make bets about when Charlie would leave the other woman.

While this was happening in the bar, Charlie and Lola were having a rather serious conversation in one of the back rooms.

“Charlie-Boy,” Lola had said, “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too, Lola,” Charlie agreed with a smile. He was suddenly pulled into an embrace by his friend.

The pair stood like that for a good long while, one of Lola’s hands resting on the small of his back, the other across his shoulders as his hands rested on her hips.

“I especially missed hearing you sing every night,” Charlie said after a few minutes.

A few seconds later, Lola’s voice filled the room as she sung,

“Remember the pub where our fathers went

To spend the end of the day?

 

“Remember the yard behind the pub

Where we would run and play?

 

“Yeah, well, now the pub is a laundromat

Now, the yard is a high-rise flat

You can't go back

You can't make it last,” Lola and Charlie slowly started to sway to her gentle- but powerful- singing.

 

“You've gotta take what you've got

Even when your life is in knots

You take aim, take your shot

Sometimes, you've got to re-write the plot

You've got to take what you've got

 

“You'd always say that one of these days

You'd get out of Northampton town

You'd always that you wouldn't stay

No, you wouldn't stick around

 

“Never knew what I wanted before

Now I'm even more unsure

 

“You can't move on if you're still in the past,” their swaying slowly became dancing as the song continued,

“You've gotta take what you've got

Even when your life is in knots

You take aim, take your shot

Sometimes, you've got to re-write the plot

You've got to take what you've got

 

“Everybody’s telling me what I need to be

Change with the times, move to London town

Or live out a legacy

Well, maybe this time, I’ll take a chance

Leap into the vast expanse

Maybe this time, I’ll seize my destiny

My destiny!

 

“You've gotta take what you've got

Even when your life is in knots

You take aim, take your shot

Sometimes, you've got to re-write the plot

You've got to take what you've got”

Their dancing became swaying once more as the slow song came to an end. Charlie pulled back slightly, their arms falling from one another as he looked up at Lola, “how do you know that song?” he remembered writing it down on a scrap piece of paper after he had run into Harry.

“I found it on a piece of paper, written in your handwriting, in my dressing room,” Lola told him.

Charlie smiled slightly; it’s slower than he’d imagined the song, but it was perfect. It was Lola. He suddenly realised how little space there was between them: if he just a few inches-

The door opened and the pair stepped slightly away from each other.

Lauren stepped in and stopped short. She looked between the two who stood there awkwardly. She cleared her throat, “what’s taking so long, Charlie?”

“Um, I was looking at her shoes,” he replied.

She glanced around the room, “there are no shoes in here.”

“Erm-”

“You know what, it doesn’t matter,” Lauren told him, “we’ve got to go.”

“Alright,” Charlie replied and Lauren left the room, “goodbye, Lola.”

“See you around, Charlie-Boy,” she smiled sadly. She didn’t want him to go again.

Charlie smiled slightly, before turning and leaving the room. As he left, Lola realised: she had almost kissed him.

“Shit,” she muttered. She was falling in love with Charlie Price.


End file.
